Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!

God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted! – Psalm 47 (ESV)

Praise is not an optional thing for people of God- it should be an automatic response to the grace and love of God. When we think about the wonder and majesty of God, how can we keep from singing?

(God says to Abraham): “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:2-3 (ESV)

When the Psalmist speaks of our heritage, he is not just talking about the tribes of Israel or the direct genetic descendants of Abraham. He speaks of all the families of the earth- meaning all nations, people groups and tribes, receiving blessing through the promise God gave to Abraham.

Jesus answered (the Pharisees), “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. John 8:54-59 (ESV)

Jesus scandalized the Pharisees when He informed them, before Abraham was, I AM. Yet Jesus Himself is also a descendant of Abraham.

We see Psalm 47 not only as a Psalm of praise, but also as a vision of the Ascension of Jesus. Jesus- God I AM- long before Abraham was, came down to earth to live as one of us. Jesus, God I AM, was given to die on the Cross and become the perfect sacrifice for our sins, giving Himself as a free gift for all those who would hear and have faith. Jesus, God I AM, defeated death. He is both with us, and has gone to live in glory in heaven. We will ultimately join him there. All the more reason for songs and praise!

Jesus is who He says He is- God I AM, on whose Word the world was created. He created humanity perfect, but we fell into the sin of pride and made ourselves imperfect, wanting to be our own gods. He did not abandon us messed up humans who disobeyed Him. Instead, He gave Himself to break the curse of sin we brought upon ourselves, the sin that began in the Garden. (Genesis 3:1-7) He keeps the promise He made to Abraham- that all the nations and tribes of the earth are blessed- and redeemed- through Abraham’s offspring.